How it started?
It all started with a message from Deepak which read "Are you game for tomorrow?"
"Sure, what do you have in mind", I replied.
Tring tring, my cellphone rang immediately. I knew it was Deepak.
"I am bored of the Chikkatirupathi route", he said. "Let us do some other route".
I could understand, having rid with him two weeks before, and because I'd like to explore and stay off-beat.
"How much do you have in mind. We want to do the long one on Sunday", I queried.
"Lets do about fifty. Some of my friends are also joining. One is joining from Banashankari".
That puzzled me. The distance to and from Banashankari is itself fifty kms. I was thinking how we could accomodate the guy from Banashankari.
I gave him multiple options and mentioned clearly that any ride for him will exceed the fifty we are planning.
"Ok, let us plan the route. We can do the Gunjur - Huskur - E-City -Chandapura -Dommasandra and back, and that is about 50K" I suggested.
He seemed to agree and asked for a map, for which I shared the Garmin connect link.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/154664968
First of all, I had been waiting for the weekend to ride, and the call from Deepak only escalated excitement. I was super excited, that it is going to be a two-ride weekend.
Prepping for the ride
Maybe, I should prepare a checklist which I can peruse later on.
500ml of honey-enriched water in the Gatorade bottle, Another litre in the backpack. With that went in some delicious dates which my brother in Saudi sent me last week.
I felt I was missing something. Ok, the sprouts. I already had peanut sprouts, but that wasn't sufficient. Ok, let me soak some Black Chana, and I put it along with peanuts.
I checked my Garmin 405CX, which showed 71% battery. I put it on charge to get it up to 100%. My Samsung Galaxy S2 was feeling alone, and I let it spend sometime with the Garming, and the guy and the girl were getting charged.
Ok, what next, the puncture kit and the spare tube went in to my backpack.
I went up to my new found love, the Giant Boulder SE, and checked the air in both in the tyres. The front one seemed ok, and the back one didn't have sufficient air. I quickly got the hand pump, and started filling air.
I wasn't sure about the position of the lever in the pump, and after a couple of tries, went to youtube to find the correct position.
I found this wonderful video, explains all the different valves, and how to pump them too!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ehf6HL0aLTc
After a couple of tries, I got it to a satisfactory level, and sent a message to Deepak to get his pump as backup.
Looks like the guy and the girl had so much fun, that they got charged quickly. I got the Garmin along with the Heart Rate belt ready on the table to be picked up in the morning, and the Galaxy went into the front pouch of
Along with it, went my wallet. I double-checked that I have sufficient cash, and some change too.
I went up to the helmet which was sitting in a corner and was cradling the gloves and the sunglasses. I picked up the sunglasses, and gave it a gentle bath with mild soap, to get it ready for the ride.
The time was already 2330, and I was supposed to start at 0600 hrs.
I got my biking jersey along with another dry-fit ready and kept it on the table, along with the Garmin. Picked up an alternate pair of shorts and dri-fit T, which went into the back-pack.
I went and checked the bike and found something missing. After pondering for a while, I realized that it was the watch holder. The last time I took it , it was loose. The thing did not come with the Garmin and was a carryover from a old HRM.
Fixing the handlebar watch-mount
My engineering mind quickly checked for an engineering solution.All I needed was some padding in the middle to hold her up.
So the search continued. A few minutes later, I found a small rubber sheet that came up as a padding along with a Titan Watch. We should have thrown it out then and there, but you see, trash has some value. I quickly cut it up fit within the watch holder, and it fit perfectly. I mounted the watch holder on the handle bar.
With that I was satisfied, that I went up to bed. The time was 2350.
I realized I need the Galaxy S2 for the alarm, and picked it up from the bag. I set two different alarms, one at 0440 and another at 0450, as I usually do. The alarms actually work like a charm. They play a natural soothening tone 5 minutes that you wake up from deep sleep without disturbing your sleep patterns.
My super excitement did not let me sleep. I would have been awake for another half-an-hour atleast.
Some time later, I woke up, and checked the time was only 0235, and went to bed back again.
The next time, it was 0335, and I didnt catch further sleep after that.
When the alarm went up at 0435, I was already awake, and canceled it to rest for a while.
When the next alarm came up at 0444, I got up from the bed and was wondering how I'll pass the next one hour.
Went to the kitchen and drank two full glasses of water (about 600ml), to speed up the morning ablutions. Also turned on the geyser, as I had sufficient time for the shower. I opened my laptop, and checked the fixed the problems that it was showing up the previous night.
I still had 30 minutes to kill, which was spent usefully in browsing biking related websites.
Now the preparation for the ride starts...
I forgot to leave enough water for the black chana to soak up properly, which meant that it wasn't ready for consumption. I picked some roast chana dal as backup.
At this time, I realized that I am missing bananas, which is my favourite fuel.
I realized the time was 0540 already. Took a quick shower and the last minute formalities followed...
I got on to the biking attire that I kept aside the previous night Wore the HRM, and put the Garmin on the watch mount. Unlocked the bike. The lock and key went into the backup. (I must get an alternate lock. Man, this lock weighs so much). Anyways, I consider the bike rides as exercise. All weights carried on your backpack increases your endurance. Just hoping my bag doesn't mind it.
I gently rolled the bike and kept it outside, so that the Garmin will get all the heavenly blessings from all the stars, and went back home to wear the shoes, and pick up the helmet, gloves and sunglasses.
It wasn't dark outside; so, the sunglasses went into its own case in the backpack.
The time was 0550. Quickly called up Deepak, who said "5 mintues, I will be there", at our agreed meeting point, Varthur Road circle.
I gently woke up my wife, who was still in the middle of the night, and told her I should be back 12ish. I put on the backpack, locked the house, and put the keys into the backpack. After wearing the shoes, I was ready, and the moment was here...
I went to the bike, which was parked in the middle of the road. (Sometimes, I wonder what'll happen if somebody steals it. I keep my eyes on the bike, once I park it outside).
Quickly checked the Garmin, which seemed to have got all the blessings to start the ride.
Pressed the "Start" button on the Garmin, and that's how the ride started...
The weather was cool. It was a little brighter than what it was two weeks ago (that's my previous weekend ride).
I paid attention to all the "changing gears" stuff that I had read up on bikeszone.
(Now my gear shift pattern is 3x7-3x6-3x5-2x5-2x4-2x3-1x3-1x2-1x1. ).
My Garmin beeps and laps at every mile (it has been set to). I looked up at the timing and felt it was much slower than what I was doing previously. But felt what the heck, and continued.
I reached our agreed starting point 12 minutes into the ride. Deepak wasn't yet there.I quickly checked the pressure on the rear tire. It didn't seem ok. Took the hand-pump, and filled it up again. After about 40 strokes, the tire felt ok. I put the pump back in its place, and looked at the path, in which Deepak was to come.
One rider just arrived. I checked with him, and he wasn't from our group. Deepak arrived in a minute, and delivered the good news that its going to be only two of us. His two buddies have overslept and wont be joining us.
(Deepak and I match up very well. He is a strong rider, and keeps up with the pace of my Giant on a old Firefox. I cant beat him on up hills. Man, he has stronger legs. With 24 marathons under his belt, what else can I expect. I've managed only six till now).
Rider from Basavangudi
He called up the rider from Banashankari. It was supposed to be Basavangudi. He was 30 minutes to Decathlon. A quick back calculation on my mind, and I told we should take the longer Dommasandra loop to be at Decathlon by 30 minutes. Deepak agreed.
Ten minutes into the ride, Deepak's phone rang. It was bad news from the Basavangudi rider. .He's had a flat, and was held up at some place near Sarjapur Road-ORR junction.
"Ok", I said. "Let us ride faster towards him then".
Luckily, we hadn't passed the Gunjur crossover point. We took it, when it came, and we rode faster to reach him. I love this route. The sun was just coming up, and was its best for the day.
Soon we reached Sarjapur Road, and took a right towards Agara. Sarjapur road had gentle ups and downs, which meant frequent gear changes.
I was ahead of Deepak by about 100 metres. I kept a watch of all the riders coming on the opposite so that the rendezvous wont be missed, assuming that he would have replaced his tube and started riding.
Then, at Total Mall, I stopped, waiting for Deepak. When Deepak arrived, he confirmed that he hadn't seen our man too.
We didn't see him till the ORR junction, and Deepak suggested that we ride further ahead.
"We can find him easily if we ride on the wrong side", Deepak suggested.
That was big NO for me. "Let us ride on the correct side", I said.
After about 300 metres, we spotted him. Here comes Vivek, on a btwin roadie. I queried him about all the details of the road bike. (There was a cinema running on the back of my mind with me riding the roadie).
We bumped into our fellow marathoner Manoj Bhat, who was running towards Agara. We exchanged a few words. Manoj mentioned getting a bike for cross-training. One more rider to be club, welcome.
Our start to plan the ride again. The time was about 0700, and we still had lot of time for Decathlon opening hours.
"Let us have breakfast then", I suggested. We can come back to Decathlon after the breakfast.
All the inclines and declines again, with frequent changing gears. We stopped at Decathlon and confirmed that the opening time was 0830.
Breakfast at Priya Darshini
Priya Darshini restaurant was our next stop, which has become favourite for breakfast. I confimed that Vivek was a Southie, and he can give expert feedback on the idli-vada.
One plate-idli vada for each of us. I ordered an extra khara bath, after having tasted it a couple of weeks ago.
When we finished breakfast, it was still 0800, and going to Decathlon meant atleast an hour drop from the schedule.
Vivek didn't have a puncture kit, and that seemed to be a problem. He was keen to go to Decathlon, to make the purchase.
Deepak suggested that he will spare his puncture kit with Vivek, and we both (Deepak and myself) can use mine.
"Great", I said, "Lets roll, then"
Deepak was querying about Thalli, and I replied, "Let us go to Chandapura circle and take a call".
Dommasandra to Chandapura
I was ahead leading them, and when I reached Dommasandra circle, I stopped to reset the Garmin, and mark the route for Chandapura. (That would have made it easier for sharing). Both of them passed me. I followed after resetting my Garmin.
I passed Deepak in a short while. Only temporarily, he'll catch me in the next uphill.Vivek was riding smoothly in his roadie, and was maintaining a good pace. I was having a hard time catching up with him. I briefly passed him on a downhill.
When we reached the railway crossing, I stopped, turned back and signalled a pot-hole alert to Vivek. He stopped and rolled his bike. Deepak was there within 10 seconds, and just as I was about to start, my phone rang.
Guessing that it should have been home, I got the phone out of my backpack. (Its time for a handlebar bag now, the backpack is too complicated).
It was my mom from Chennai, and wanted to speak to my daughter. Quickly finished the call stating I am outside, and started the ride.
The route from Dommasandra to Chandapura had rolling hills, with a good share of downhills. We covered the 11K in about 28 minutes, and as we approached Chandapura, a herd of cows greeted us. (We had the divine blessings of Go Matha also).
Reaching Chandapura
Vivek was first to arrive in Chandapura, and I was a few paces, should I say pedals. Deepak was about 30 seconds behind.
It was a market day in Chandapura, and people were just setting up shop. It was time for fueling, and you know what is my favourite fuel.
A kg of robusta (green variety) cost 15 bucks. When the shop-wal put it on the weighing scale, it showed more than a kg, and the shop-wala said "Give me 15 rupees".
"oru kg irukka. (Is it one kg)", I asked.
"Ha sir, melaye irukku (Its more than that)".
"Athukku than kettan (That's why I asked)"
"Muthal Boni, sir. Eduthukkoga (First customer, take it,sir)"
Shopkeepers have a practice of making a hassle-free deal for the first customer of the day.
Deepak and Vivek were grinning at me looking at the big bunch of bananas. They were thinking that I am going to eat the dozen bananas. We quickly shared the bananas.
Three of us gobbled up five bananas. Knowing that the peels will end up in the landfill, only to rot, I collected them and ran back 50 metres to feed it to the cows.
"Ok, so what, now?", the question popped again.
"I am going home from now. I'll take Hosur Road, No Decathlon for today", Vivek said.
So, it was between me and Deepak. The time was 0900.
"What the heck. We are already here. Its only 0900. If we make ride quickly, we'll make it to Thally in two hours, and can make it home by 1300 or 1400". Both of us picked up our cellphones, called back our homes, and got our ETPs (Extended Time Permissions).
Having done the route by car, I fairly know the route, and knew that it had lots of uphills, and that we are making an aggressive estimate.
I packed the remaining bananas in a newspaper, and put them in the backpack. There was already two more litres on the water in the backpack.
"You are becoming a luggage carrier", Deepak grinned.
"As long as it on my back, it is exercise for me", I countered.
The next major destination was Anekal. One km into the road, we hit a semi-paved road with the gravel left loose. My Garmin beeped just before and after the patch, which means that it is close to 1.5K. Both of us got off from our saddle, and rid the bad patch out. It was a gentle downhill, so we didn't have to pedal much. I was thinking about the return journey when we'll have to pedal hard.
The road to Anekal had trees lined on both sides. Throughout the ride, there was a gentle breeze. I was in top gear most of the time, and we reached Anekal quickly. I cautioned Deepak, that the up hill will start once we hit the Tamil Nadu border. I was leading him, so there wasn't any pitstops till then.
As I knew the way, I was breezing through Anekal town. Many people were looking at us.
As we were passing by, I noticed a few shops, and just remembered that it'll be good to pick up chocolates, in case, we encounter any children on the way. I got down and got some chocolates.
When I came back, I realized that Deepak hadn't stopped and would have gone past. Out came the cellphone, and a quick call to request him whereever he was, and that I would catch up. I kept looking for him on the way, but could find him only after about two kilometres.
The road to Tamil Nadu border had eucalyptus trees on both sides, and similar to the ride from Chandapura to Anekal. A few kms later, we saw an eleneer (tender coconut) shop.
Deepak was reluctant, but I wanted to stop. When have I ever said NO to the heavely drink of Tender Coconut. Just when we were having tender coconuts, a couple of guys on a bike stopped. They seemed to know Deepak, and were from Navadarshanam (www.navadarshanam.org). We chatted for a few minutes.
I had two of them, while Deepak had one. And the ride started again.
That's Deepak trying to catch me on his cellphone camera.
Tamil Nadu Checkpost to Thally
The ride upto Tamil Nadu checkpost was fairly uphill, but we didn't find it difficult. There was gentle downhill after that, which, my bike seemed to race. After a while, there was another downhill, on which my bike was zooming. I was trying to pedal hard on the top gear but could not catch up with the bike. At one point, my Garmin showed 46kmph (wow).
Two kms later, I saw a board for Navadarshanam. Stopped right there for Deepak to arrive, and pointed the signboard to him. He nodded his head and carried forward. I followed him.
Two kms later, I realized that I have not restarted my Garmin. I was very much annoyed with the AutoPause feature from Garmin, and was thinking of doing it myself. This was the third time today. Now, I have learnt my lesson. "Leave the simple tasks to the Gadgets. Enjoy the scenery."
The ride further to Gummalapuram seemed to have a steady incline, but we were determined. The road was on a ridge, and had scenic views on either side. I stopped a couple of times to take pictures. And so did Deepak.
Reaching Thally
As we pedaled a few more kms, we reached the Hosur-Thally road junction. We took a right towards Thally. We were racing down at every downhill to save time.
When we reached the bridge before Thally, there were a lot of people fishing on the lake. There should have been atleast a fifty people on the 2-acre lake. It looked like they had gone on a massive fish hunt. A portion of the bridge had caved in, but, there was enough space for an auto to pass through. Our bikes sailed through seamlessly. Finally we reached Thally around 1115.
We quickly got to a tea shop, and had some tea. Neither did we have the patience to find a good idli shop, nor the luck. We munched on two bananas, and set out with the hope that we'll find better food in Chandapura or Anekal.
Return Journey
For the first half-hour our return journey was alright. When the sun started beating down, the ride got tougher. More so with the steady inclines along the route. We stopped at several places en route for water, and a little rest.
A group of villagers stopped and enquired about our rides. We told them, "we are training for Karnataka state tour" on bicycle. Given the chance, I'll happily do that. They even offered us Ragi Mudde, which we had to decline because of time constraints.
When we reached Karnataka border, I had a mild sign of cramps. But more importantly, the bums were paining after six hours on the gel saddle.
Deepak suggested that we have stop at the elaneer joint again. I took two elaneers again.
The ride to Anekal was tougher than in the morning, with the sun, and with heavy crosswinds.
Drinking Water for the rides
Deepak stopped to pick up another 2L bottle of water. We had almost run out and had no other choice.
"I dont mind picking up water. But I dont like picking up plastic". (Those two bottles are still lying in my bag, as I am ever ready to carry more weight on the backpack).
He seemed to agree, but there wasn't another way for us to get hydrated, unless we socialize with people en route. And, I seem to be getting good at it.
Lost in Anekal
After reaching Anekal, we were enquired to find the road to Bangalore. After traveling almost two kms, we realized that it wasn't the road we came through. Then it struck me, that we should be asking for the road to Chandapura. And by chance, we encountered this guy, Afzal. He was too reluctant to pose for the picture.
Fellow bikers, this is what the Indian manufactured bikes are used and abused for. We can include a new category in BBCh of cargo-laden bicycles.
So, we turned around and caught the road to Chandapura. The sun was beating us down, and the trees were at regular intervals. I could say the tree cover was close to 25%. That was better than "no trees at all".
We stopped just before the big bad patch, to gather enough energy to cross it. The patch was a big relief this time, our bums being off the saddle.
The time was 1315. Our priority was to reach home by 230.
We continued our pedaling. Just when we were reaching Muthanallur, a group of kids waved at us, and I remembered the chocolates. I stopped there and distributed the chocolates to the kids. There were lots of questions. Why are you riding cycles? How far are you riding? etc. etc. One kid wanted to try out the bicycle too. I declined citing time!
So, we continued towards Dommasandra, facing gradual inclines. I remembered Deepak's cadence advice of 80, and tried to stick to it, shifting gears down whenever required. I stopped frequently to get a good sip of water.
With two kms to go to Dommasandra, my Garmin beeped. It was the low battery alert. It still had 20% battery. At this time, I was thinking, "We have covered about 8 hrs and there is still one-fifth of the battery left. It should easily last for the next hour home".
Reaching Dommasandra
We reached Dommasandra at 1355. I reset my Garmin to mark the end of the route.
By this time, Deepak had dropped his Decathlon plans. I suggested that we take the Gunjur road to avoid lorry traffic. Deepak agreed.
It was a great start. With a gradual slope, my bike raced down. My long time goal of a sub-3 mile seemed to be within reach. I pedaled down hard not to give any chance. The mile split was 2:50.
As usual, Deepak was slower on the slopes. His logic is "Why to waste energy when gravity is already aiding you?". He was a good 200 metres behind me. I looked behind for the traffic, and swerved to the right, signalling a right-turn.
Not willing to lose momentum, I continue to pedal fast. I knew the route like the back of my palm. (We used to commute this route to E-city daily for about two years).
After about a km, I stopped under a shaded tree to take a sip, and allowing Deepak to catch up. A few curious kids came along, and I still had some chocolates left. Deepak hadn't still arrived. I picked up the cellphone, and gave him a call.
As to my suspicion, he had missed the right turn. He was only one km away from Decathlon. So, I asked him to continue to Decathlon. My spirits took a low, I'll have to ride the last leg alone.
I got onto the bike, and started the first pedal. One beep. I wasn't expecting a mile marker this time. I looked down to see what it is. The Garmin had fainted. He needed fuel to carry around. His ion imbalance could only be corrected by the charger sitting back home. There was a small exhilaration that I outlasted the Garmin.
I wasn't expecting
Garmin 405CX to faint. For sure, I couldn't have exhausted 20% battery in 15 minutes time. I don expect the discharge rate to be so high. In any case, Garmin rates it for 8-hours, which it has lasted.
Now, I dont even have the GPS for company to motivate me. Left all alone, I continued to pedal for the lonely ride ahead.
After a minute or so, an idea struck my mind. My Galaxy S2 was sitting in the back quite comfortably. I got it out and turned on Endomondo. Divine blessings from heavens were aplenty. The GPS signal read "Excellent". The back of my mind, I was running calculations. "So, that's eight hours for the Garmin, and another three hours for the Galaxy, which means, I have a range of 11 hours". I exclaimed.
Its better to carry the charger for Garmin and get it charged when you are resting. In the worst case, you can carry a portable battery pack, if AC power is not available.
"Excellent", I thought, and continued. The next twenty minutes was spent in solitude, which is the foremost reason I venture out to run or to bike.
I pedaled slow and steady. This is a route I would be racing down on any fine day, to beat my previous timing. The usual traffic mess at Varthur didn't seem to affect me. I breezed through the narrow gap on the left lane, extra cautiously for any pedestrians who might just come on the way.
Soon, I crossed the Varthur Lake and turned left towards Marathahalli, and stopped at the usual spot just before Tyre Empire. There was a small tree which provided relief from the scorching sun. The last drops of water from the bottle were emptied. "I dont need any more water", I thought.
So, I continued, pedaling steadily through the inclines, and gliding with gravity on the declines. Ten minutes later, I reached home. The time was 1445.
I took out the Galaxy and checked the distance. It was 6.48 miles in 29 minutes. "Great", I thought, "I have this covered"
I gave a gentle pat to the bicycle, on completing the 130K-or-so ride.
After the usual suprabatham from all those at home, I chose to have Lunch first and then the shower later. I went to wash my face, and found a thick layer of salt on my face. I haven't been like this for atleast two years now.
You may have to zoom in to see the salt layers.
There was an excellent lunch, thanks to Ugadi yesterday. Bonda soup, Obbattu, and so on. Guess what, the black chana sprouts that I had left behind also made it onto a dish. "Protein, protein", my mind screamed.
Silently, I slipped in an application that the next ride is 175K.
After the sumptuous lunch, I had a mandate from my better half, not to sleep. What is a better way of spending time than blogging about your ride?
I went back to the bicycle, and looked like the gel seat has had its day. I guess I was too hot for the seat to handle. The gel was popping out at many places. Soon, I'll have to look for a proper biker's saddle.
I just started my riding four weeks back. Its 135K today. At this rate it wont be long before, "I'll have to introduce the Giant as my spouse, in social circles". And who knows, I'll have a roadie for my second wife too! Much better fun and lesser maintenance.
Breakup:
Home to Sarjapur-ORR and to Dommasandra: 31.25 K
Dommasandra to Thally & back: 81.8K
Dommasandra to Mullur: 3.2K
Mullur to Home: 10.45K
Total: 135K
